My early morning trips to Kew will now be starting even earlier thanks to the new rail timetable.. This morning I woke at 5am (un-necessarily, I just woke early!) but hey ho...
It was quite dull to start with as I arrived at 8... we even had a few minutes rain at one point.
But, the colour... oh the colour!!
the newly replanted parterre is my normal starting point
strong colour scheme for summer
across the other side of the path, the circular bed full of alliums is spectacular
got side-tracked by the rose garden at the back of the palm house, the early varieties are looking good (more later!)
headed down the grass with the Pagoda in the distance
a huge tree full of blossom caught my eye...
I ducked under the weighty branches for the label- Japanese Dogwood...
next to it, another huge tree covered in smaller flowers... Japanese Snowbell...
and the Chinese Fringe Tree
luckily the rain whilst I was admiring these white beauties didn't last long...
but made for good closeups!
a huge wiegela japonica shrub bursting with blossom
back in the rose garden, the smell was amazing.
rain stopped now!
it was warming up, time to shed a layer
back at the other end of the palm house, more alliums, I can't resist them!
loving the yellow underplanting
the circular bed at the head of the Broad Walk has different coloured (wallflowers?) underneath
I walked down the Broad Walk. More alliums.
salvia (I think)
white alliums in big drifts
I spent ages and loads of photos trying to capture the bees on these
the macro lens doesn't focus very fast so I kept missing them!
but I love all the purples in the Broad Walk
it's my favourite colour!
geranium
I walked over to the bed beside the Orangery restaurant to inspect the pink and purple (peonies and iris)
these rich purple iris are beautiful!
crossing back across the grass, I was off to the Hive and the wildflower meadow, but this tree stopped me (forgot to look for the label)
but I love the dark purple leaves against the flowers
another huge tree (locust)
stopped to photograph the figures on a stone urn before I got to the Hive...
from the Hive I went to the POW (outside only, not open yet) where I spent another age and lots of blurry photos of bees again...
this one's ok though!
Peony time now...
the white ones were enormous
more gorgeous iris
poppies...another favourite.
sun wasn't out yet, they're better with the sun shining through the petals...
epic fail to capture the bees...
two on this poppy, tumbling around on the petals
heading through the shady woodland walk, love this meconopsis (himalyan poppy) saw some great ones on the Chelsea Flower Show coverage on tv this week, notoriously hard to grow, but they're ok here at Kew!
more Iris by the pond opposite the Palm House..
several family groups of geese walked by... twins...
triplets - bigger!
and two teeny weeny cute balls of fluff!!
so small they kept falling over!
the gunnera isn't teeny weeny! growing apace
after coffee and cake it was time to head to the Temperate House....
events being laid on today (and for the rest of the summer at weekends)
I still love these large tubs of daisies, and the yellow ones are fabulous now
I got carried away but there is still so much more to come, I'll limit myself to two...
view from the top again
closeup of the waterfall from above
sun playing on the structure
put the ultra wide angle on...
great distortion...
stairs down.. yes, that's my feet
it may be my imagination but I am sure they're all growing fast already in here...
ok, I lied more daisies! different pots, actually!
this grating should be a stencil!
sat on a bench inside the TH to wait for the first "event"
still love the structure of the place..
ah, here he comes! Gnomus... a giant puppet, a family fun event (I enjoyed it too)
He's manipulated like Joey, the War Horse from the stage play/film and the puppeteers tell a story of the plants in the TH... it was really entertaining and educational as well...
we followed him around for a while
after his first tour I popped out to get some water and sit in some shade for a while....
but Gnomus was back, to tour the Australian end of the TH so I tagged back along
some of the tiny children weren't quite sure however....
time for event 2. Cirque Bijou... aerobics and music... I staked my place (it's on every weekend till 2 September, on the hour from 12.30 - next time I think I'll join the crowds on the walkway above the TH....
but sit back and enjoy.. took quite a lot, but enjoyed the performance too, it was staggering.
I was expecting the girl to swing off the tether but in fact she seemed to be the counterbalance as the guy went higher and lower on his swing..
the performance lasted about 15-20 minutes and was amazing! do go and see it if you're at Kew on a weekend.
I was really hot and tired now, so a quick look at the waterlilies....
a final few alliums...
nearly forgot the laburnum arch, which is past it's best but parts of it are fabulous still
sweet chestnut blooms...
the trees line the path from the entrance (or exit) at the Elizabeth gate are are stunning, and huge
587 photos... condensed madly...
hope you enjoyed it, I certainly did!!
so small they kept falling over!
10 comments:
Stunning photos of some truly gorgeous plants! I love Himalayan poppies and the alliums and irises are so beautiful! Thanks so much for my tour of Kew today. Sorry I have been such an infrequent visitor to blogland x
I so love seeing these posts. I love the wonderful summer colours...and the cirque looked amazing. So fabulous photos.
Superb! What a visit! Amazing photos.
WOW, oh WOW. The first photo that you usually start with is awesome. Gorgeous bright colors in both the first and second photos.
Those purple and yellow flowers at the head of the Broad Walk were enchanting. I like that planting and applaud their use of two strong colors like that.
I always like it when you manage to capture a bug or bee on a flower. And those ducks and babies are simply out of this world with cuteness.
I could stay in the Temperate House forever. I am such a big fan of palms. I really would love to be able to raise them where I live. My entire front lawn would look like one of the Temperate House beds.
Those Cirque Bijou performers were great, especially the guy. Your photos were amazing and how you captured him mid-flight was awe inspiring.
You could show all 587 photos and I wouldn't object. They are always a joy to see when you visit Kew.
The Dog Wood and Fringe Tree are stunning and I love all those orange flowers, well I love them all. Gorgeous photos and wonderful visit to Kew, I feel like I have been on the journey with you. Thank you. Tracy ❤️❤️
One of the best yet Helen...all the different colour flowers are amazing...so beautiful and we'll worth the achy feet lol xx
What a fantastic post Helen! Impossible to choose a favourite pic today as they are all wonderful. The peach coloured rose at the end is breathtaking and I love the yellow iris (never seen a completely yellow one before) and the creamy yellow of those daisies is a lovely happy colour. I like their feathery leaves too. Another favourite for me today is the white thistle and of course the gorgeous blue poppy. As for those cute little goslings....well, what can one say except they are adorable!
Fab photos of the great summer entertainment. Gnomus looks a real character but I can see how small children might not have been so sure. The pics of the cirque guy are pretty amazing but will be great if you can capture a little on video for us.
After that mammoth trip (not to mention to really early start) I hope you are recovered this morning and can give your feet a rest.
Hugs
Lesley Xx
I do so love visiting Kew through your lens! What stunning photos and I have to admit I can't resist an allium either - aren't they spectacular flowers. The show looks like great fun and what a brilliant idea to put it on every week. Thanks for sharing.
Diana xx
Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous. The newly opened Temperate House is as beautiful as I'd imagined, and I've fallen a little in love with Gnomus too. The Japanese Dogwood is jawdroppingly beautiful, and my other favourite is the complete opposite (though also white) - the tiny delicate flowers of the meadow grass, similar to Queen Anne's Lace but even less opulent. I'm sure you know which one I mean. Thanks for sharing your always wonderful photos of the day.
Alison x
More fabulous photos! I love the close ups of the bees! The purple iris and the geraniums are wonderful and I loved seeing the Himalayan poppies! One of the gardens we visited in the lake District had loads - I'll have to look up where now or I won't sleep tonight!!! What a treat you got in the Temperate House - Gnomus looks like the BFG! Hugs, Chrisx
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